BS: American Presidential race 2024

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Aug 24 - 07:14 PM

Stephanie Grisham, former Trump Press Secretary and the first of his folks to resign on Jan. 6, just spoke. "He mocked his supporters as basement dwellers" - or something along those lines.

I would love to hear Cassidy Hutchinson discuss his throwing plates at the wall followed by streaks of catsup being washed off by the White House staff, but that's probably more information than we need at the convention.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Aug 24 - 12:42 AM

The Obamas gave excellent speeches, and among the points were Michelle saying to use your common sense - if your candidate isn't exactly perfect but you understand how important this election is because of who else is running, grow a set of ovaries and vote for your candidate (my words, not hers - and really, who decided balls are tough? To paraphrase Sarah Silverman, they're incredibly fussy and delicate.)

Obama touched on Trump's constant complaints "ever since he rode that golden elevator" into the first campaign. To have thoughtful and lucid people on stage all week it puts Trump in a bad light. Someone asked in one of the MSNBC social media posts if his team "tranqed" Trump to keep him quiet today.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: The Sandman
Date: 21 Aug 24 - 04:56 AM

I believe that Trump actually thinks he can take over the country as dictator." quote NEILD.
IF Trump thinks that he is Deluded.
I think Trump believes the Hitler quote" credibility does not matter, the victor will not be asked if he told the truth"

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: gillymor
Date: 21 Aug 24 - 09:44 AM

Prez Obama is still the coolest guy in the room, with the possible exception of Michelle. They both gave dynamite speeches last night. The Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff also came a across with a glowing, heartfelt tribute to his wife. What a contrast with Trump's situation.

Obama takes the measure of Trump

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Neil D
Date: 21 Aug 24 - 09:46 AM

Sandman, for the record, I don't think he can take over the country and yes, he is deluded. He thinks he can get elected and then use artificial crises (I previously mentioned the Reichstag fire) to suspend future elections. Of course that could only work if he had the full support of the military and I doubt that will happen. But this al hinges on him getting elected so let's not let that happen.
Oh and Sandman, now that I've engaged with you I feel the need for a nap.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Aug 24 - 11:36 AM

The fact that two large sports arenas were packed to the rafters last night as the DNC met in Chicago still and Harris/Walz had an event in Wisconsin (at the place where the GOP convention was held last month). Last night Trump addressed a group at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office facility in Howell, Michigan.

Although access to the event venue — a warehouse-like facility operated by the sheriff’s office — was limited to a few dozen supporters, dozens more Trump followers made sure to show up in the surrounding neighborhood.

The difference in crowd size (that Barack Obama rightly gave a nod to as one of Trump's major interests) was significant.

Here is a bit of history from Heather Cox Richardson's "Letters From An American" newsletter today, giving context to what is going on in current US politics:

Obama emphasized Americans’ shared values and pushed back against “those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes.” He reached back into history to prove that “the bedrock of this nation” is “the belief that there are better days ahead.” He called that belief “[t]he audacity of hope.”

Almost exactly twenty years after his 2004 speech, the same man, now a former president who served for eight years, spoke at tonight’s Democratic National Convention. But the past two decades have challenged his vision.

When voters put Obama into the White House in 2008, Republicans set out to make sure they couldn’t govern. Mitch McConnell (R–KY) became Senate minority leader in 2007 and, using the filibuster, stopped most Democratic measures by requiring 60 votes to move anything to a vote.

In 2010 the Supreme Court handed down the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, declaring that corporations and other outside groups could spend as much money as they wanted on elections. Citizens United increased Republican seats in legislative bodies, and in the 2010 midterm elections, Republicans packed state legislatures with their own candidates in time to be in charge of redistricting their states after the 2010 census. Republicans controlled the key states of Florida, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Ohio, and Michigan, as well as other, smaller states, and after the election, they used precise computer models to win previously Democratic House seats.

In the 2012 election, Democrats won the White House decisively, the Senate easily, and a majority of 1.4 million votes for House candidates. Yet Republicans came away with a thirty-three-seat majority in the House of Representatives. And then, with the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision, the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, making it harder to protect Democratic voters.

As the Republicans skewed the mechanics of government to favor themselves, their candidates no longer had to worry they would lose general elections but did have to worry about losing primaries to more extreme challengers. So they swung farther and farther to the right, demonizing the Democrats until finally those who remain Republicans have given up on democracy altogether.

Michelle Obama made it clear that we see what the GOP is trying to do and need to work to fix things.

And then Mrs. Obama took up the mantle of her mother, warning that demonizing others and taking away their rights, “only makes us small.” It “demeans and cheapens our politics. It only serves to further discourage good, big-hearted people from wanting to get involved at all. America, our parents taught us better than that.”

It is “up to us to be the solution that we seek.” she said. She urged people to “be the antidote to the darkness and division.” “[W]hether you’re Democrat, Republican, Independent, or none of the above,” she said, “this is our time to stand up for what we know. In our hearts is right. Not just for our basic freedoms, but for decency and humanity, for basic respect. Dignity and empathy. For the values at the very foundation of this democracy.”

“Don’t just sit around and complain. Do something.”

Between the two of them they washed the floor with Trump and his ilk. Getting a good turnout is essential to fixing some of this stuff because the GOP purging voter rolls, the gerrymandering, and the stuffing of courts is going to make it harder as time passes.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Helen
Date: 21 Aug 24 - 05:06 PM

This is on-topic re Trump & Elon Musk:

Tesla's reputation in Australia is tanking, with sales down and some buyers turned off by Elon Musk

"In short: Data provided exclusively to the ABC shows Tesla's "brand health" in Australia has steadily worsened over the past two years and is now in negative territory.

"EV groups say Tesla CEO Elon Musk has alienated potential buyers with his inflammatory rhetoric and support for known climate denier Donald Trump.


"What's next? The EV-buying demographic is shifting from early adopters who are generally loyal to Tesla to a broader segment who can access a wider range of non-Tesla models.

"On the face of it, Charlie Bell seems like an ideal Tesla customer.

The retired forestry researcher on NSW's south coast is preparing to buy his first electric vehicle (EV), having already installed rooftop solar and a home battery.

"I've always been a bit of a greenie," he says.

"He likes Teslas, Australia's most popular EV brand, but he's adamant he'll never buy one.

"The reason is simple: Elon Musk.

"The very rich, extremely online CEO of Tesla has alienated Mr Bell with, among other things, his "inane" public comments and endorsement of Donald Trump's run for the US presidency.

"And, according to new data, many other Australians feel the same.

YouGov, a market research company, has observed a sharp fall in the public's assessment of the Tesla brand since Mr Musk bought Twitter (now X) in November 2022."

[There is a graph just below that paragraph which shows the marked fall in popularity of Tesla vehicle in relation to significant points in Musk's public life.]

.....

"It's been a steep fall from grace for Tesla. Just two years ago, it was one of the few suppliers of EVs to Australia and held up as a clean energy pioneer, a model for a greener, car-driving future.

"Mr Musk was its erratic mastermind, known for stunts like launching a Tesla Roadster into space in 2018, or wading into South Australia's energy debate with a Big Battery solution.

"A turning point came in late 2022 when the multi-billionaire bought X and overhauled its moderation policies, allowing climate misinformation, conspiracy theories and far-right hate speech to proliferate.

"Over time, he became increasingly outspoken about his right-wing political views.

"In recent months, the self-described "free speech absolutist" has been accused of using X as a megaphone to amplify anti-immigration sentiment, including fuelling unrest during the UK's recent riots.

"Last week he hosted Donald Trump on X in a much-hyped interview where both men said there was no urgent need to cut carbon emissions, and Mr Trump called for more fossil fuel production."

...

Another section of the article describes a similar downturn in the U.S.

"US Democrats turn away from Tesla as California sales plummet"

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Helen
Date: 21 Aug 24 - 06:01 PM

The rest of the article mentions some other possible factors for the reduced number of Tesla EV cars being bought, including the fact that there are now more brands available than when the Tesla cars were originally introduced.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Aug 24 - 11:55 PM

The Democratic National Convention for 2024 is done and dusted. That was a spectacular retrospective speech by Kamala, in which she drew the distinction between the Democratic party and the party of Trump while she introduced a lot of Americans to who she is. During the week they made the case for Harris/Walz so thoroughly and through so many diverse voices that Trump is a no-go for the US.

In so many words she made the case that she is already doing much of this work, what you see this evening is what a President Harris looks like.

We can all see that the only work Trump did or would do is on his own behalf. His campaign is deflating more every day.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 02:22 AM

Harris and Walz are impressive. Fingers crossed for them. But there are many voters who are not politically well-educated, who feel badly done-by, and who fall for the tRump man-baby bluster. Let’s hope they are significantly outnumbered by those who wish for a Presidential team who are intelligent, well-educated, mature adults with the best interests of the US as a whole taking precedence over their own personal interests.

I like Biden a lot, I like Harris/Walz even more. Once again, fingers crossed.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Neil D
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 03:50 AM

Helen, I've never understood why businesspersons with a product to sell, would make any kind of political statement. What kind of math is telling them that when they alienate one half of the political spectrum, they can sell twice as many units to the other half. That being said, it seems that hitching your wagon to Trump is especially treacherous. Look what has become of Rudy and the pillow guy and a number of lawyers and employees who've been crushed under the wheels of the Trump bus.
In the same way, look at the negative impact he's had on the Republican party. They have now lost three straight elections, two midterms and the presidency, while allowing Trump to move the party further and further away from the mainstream, making it more difficult to win elections. Why they continue to treat him like some kind of godking is baffling to me.
And in regards to Musk, he is having issues with advertisers as well as consumers, suing them for not advertising on Twitter:
In November 2023, about a year after Musk bought the company, a number of advertisers began fleeing X over concerns about their ads showing up next to pro-Nazi content and hate speech on the site in general, with Musk inflaming tensions with his own posts endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

Musk later said those fleeing advertisers were engaging in “blackmail” and, using a profanity, essentially told them to go away.

But after they did go away, he is now suing them for going away.
Democrats in this cycle have done a brilliant job of tagging Repubs with the adjective "weird". Well none weirder that Elon who destroyed 500,000 trees to build a factory and named his baby "“X Æ A-Xii”.
I'm not sure which is the greater sin.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 04:01 AM

Just seeing snippets about the Trump crowd mocking Tim Walz's son but not seen anything concrete. If it is true they should be ashamed of themselves.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Helen
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 04:19 AM

Neil D, you said "Why they continue to treat him like some kind of godking is baffling to me."

I wonder if deep down in the bowels of the true Republican party - not the "reality" TV star hype party - that they are hoping Trump will shoot himself in the foot and lose the election big-time. One of the analytical news shows I saw this week posed the possibility that an important chunk of the Republican party may be prepared to lose this election so that they can get rid of Trump once and for all.

Also you said, "Well none weirder that Elon who destroyed 500,000 trees to build a factory and named his baby 'X Æ A-Xii'.

"I'm not sure which is the greater sin."

Personally, I think that a person who exposes his baby to a lifetime of ridicule and bullying is not a real person at all. For me, that is the greater sin. I'm placing a bet that his son and any of his other children with oddball names might change their names when they come of age.

Elon Musk’s 12 children in chronological order

And if Trump can't see how bad his decision is to be endorsed by Musk, maybe his political brand is on a downward slide.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Neil D
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 05:47 AM

Helen, I don't know about " deep down in the bowels of the true Republican party", but there certainly are Republicans who can't wait to see the arse end of the monstrosity that has polluted our political landscape far too long. The Lincoln Project, Kelly Conway's ex and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan who spoke at the Dem's convention, saying ""If Republicans are being intellectually honest with ourselves, our party is not civil or conservative. It's chaotic and crazy. And the only thing left to do is dump Trump," Duncan said. "These days, our party acts more like a cult, a cult worshiping a felonous thug."

He said he was supporting Harris and stared into the camera to speak to his "Republican friends at home watching."

"If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024 you're not a Democrat, you're a patriot," said Duncan, prompting chants of "USA! USA.!"

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Helen
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 05:54 AM

Aaah, nice! Real people who are real patriots, trying to do the best for their country.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Bill D
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 08:28 AM

Ever curious, I would briefly change the channel on my TV to the Fox News site to see what they were doing.
It is interesting that they felt compelled to carry most of the DNC prime time stuff.... except when the speaker was particularly critical of Republicans in general and The Donald in particular. Still, this is the most I have ever seen of FOX actually broadcasting Democratic speakers extolling the virtues of Harris and comparing her to the alternative!
   Then, at the very end, after the balloons fell, the had Trump himself on by phone, repeating his usual diatribes about crowd size and lies about what he claims Kamala will do. The Fox hosts were visibly uncomfortable with his stream of BS and finally had to cut away for a commercial.
   I doubt that die-hard Fox viewers have ever heard more reasons to reconsider their vote.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 10:29 AM

Bill D, possibly the topic of another thread - but there is quite a family power struggle going on now amongst the Murdoch clan and who should run that media empire.

When I open Instagram on my phone these days it is about 90% political ads. I joined it originally to share non-political photos of the yard, garden, dogs, interesting local topics. I'm guessing some of that is still buried in there but the algorithms are working against me now. Most of the texts that arrive via phone are either scammers wanting to buy my house or are political volunteers wanting my money or to join their particular branch of the cause. Since they are unsolicited, they are a sent "Stop" and blocked. I participated in a prank against Trump a few years ago (when a Tik Tok group booked all of the seats at a New England event so that when they actually got there the place would be empty.) That unfortunately put me on a few GOP call lists, but they've thinned out considerably.

Lots of stuff comes via email (I have a folder and have set rules for those so they all go to one place where I usually never look at them). Organizations send stuff via the postal mail, some of them quite interesting.

In the next 74 days I imagine we will face an avalanche of communications. The money we donate is part of why that is possible. It is time for the Citizens United horrible decision from the Supreme Court to be overturned (via good legislation), to have the new voting rights act passed, and get a lot of this money out of politics.

Pardon me, I need to go order my Harris/Walz yard sign and t-shirt.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: gillymor
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 10:44 AM

A particularly poignant moment at the DNC last night was the appearance of the The Central Park Five.
This was one of the most heinous chapters of Trump's miserable existence. It was probably when I first took notice of this racist monster.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: gillymor
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 03:45 PM

Trump and other lowlife Republicans get schooled by VP Harris' charming grand nieces-
Comma la

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 05:01 PM

Kennedy has suspended his campaign and is offering his endorsement to Trump. He frustrated environmentalists and embarrassed his family. This parting shot will hopefully be the end of it. CNN coverage.

And the Gizmodo take on it: With Trump Endorsement, RFK Jr. Is Officially a Loser and Completely Full of Sh*t
As RFK's tortured political campaign came to an appropriately lame conclusion, Kennedy revealed himself to be a total phony.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: gillymor
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 06:37 PM

Trump seems to be a magnet for whack-a-doodles.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 06:58 PM

Just as a matter of interest, are there any Mudcat members who admit to being Republican party supporters? (not necessarily Trump supporters). It doesn't seem so from all I have read here.

DC

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Helen
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 08:18 PM

Doug, as an Aussie I can excuse myself from that question. LOL

If I lived in the US, I wouldn't support the Republicans in the form they are now in but I'd be more likely to lean towards the Democrats. However, the Trump circus has pushed everything into Whackadoodle Land so who knows what will happen after this year?

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: The Sandman
Date: 24 Aug 24 - 05:26 AM

How will Kennedys leaving the race affect voters?

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Aug 24 - 12:35 PM

Not a jot.

From The Atlantic (here):

But Donald Trump and Bobby Kennedy—as I’ve referred to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. since we met freshman year at Harvard—have always had many features in common as well. Both are entitled playboy sons of northeastern wealth; both (in Michelle Obama’s words) were “afforded the grace of failing forward” as misbehaving, underachieving adolescents admitted to Ivy League colleges thanks to “the affirmative action of generational wealth”; both were reckless lifelong adolescents, both attention-craving philanderers and liars, both jerks. And Kennedy’s hour-long speech today was nearly as meandering and filled with lies as any average hour of Trump.

From the Washington Post - RFK Jr., environmental warrior, backs the ‘drill, baby, drill’ ticket
As an activist and lawyer, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent decades battling for environmental protections that Trump has worked to undo.

Kennedy had promised to be “the best environmental president in American history.” For decades, as an attorney and celebrity activist, he urged more vigorous enforcement of federal regulations guaranteeing clean air and water.

Now he joins a campaign whose policies, according to critics, would scale back those regulations and weaken the agencies that uphold them.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Aug 24 - 03:29 PM

From Politico: Trump Is Now the ‘Old’ Candidate. It Might Matter.

It’s one of the most time-tested tools used on the campaign trail: the age diss. Yes, it’s mean-spirited, but over the decades, it’s proven to be an incredibly effective — and historically bipartisan — attack on a political opponent.

It’s a tactic used to render one’s competitor as hopelessly out of touch, unable to handle the mission at hand.

That’s a playbook former President Donald Trump leaned on heavily this campaign cycle, repeatedly dinging President Joe Biden for his advanced years and dubbing him “Sleepy Joe Biden.” In a viral leaked clip of Trump at Mar-A-Lago after the presidential debate in June, he took things further, calling Biden a “broken down pile of crap.”

Now, with Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, at the top of the Democratic ticket, the 78-year-old Trump has gone from being the attacker on age to the attackee. Should he win in November, he will be the oldest president to ever take office.

Suddenly, it is Trump’s age that’s the issue, not Biden’s.

At her rallies, Harris uses subtle age shade, telling crowds that Trump would “return America to a dark past” and called his comments on her race the “same old show.” Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, 60, opts for a more direct diss. Trump, Walz says, is hopelessly “low energy,” “tired” and “needs to get a little rest on the weekends.”

As age politics become increasingly pertinent on the campaign trail, we’ve compiled the “greatest hits” in political memory of presidential matchups where candidates levied age-focused attacks.

Read more at the link.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: gillymor
Date: 24 Aug 24 - 07:44 PM

This is so rich, seeing the tables turned on "old" Trump.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: The Sandman
Date: 25 Aug 24 - 03:15 PM

Kennedy has endorsed Trump, so presumably he thinks that by leaving he is helping Trump, of course he may be wrong ,but at the moment the situation is unclear

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Aug 24 - 01:35 PM

The presidential debate terms are under negotiation now. It seems that Team Trump wants the mics muted when it isn't their turn; Harris wants them on all of the time as they have traditionally been over the years.

Is this thing on? Harris and Trump battle over hot mics at debate.
Negotiations over the Sept. 10 spectacle have hit an impasse over whether to leave the microphones on.

In the June debate between Trump and Biden they were muted between turns to speak. There was also no audience. From Politico:

But Biden is no longer running for president. And Harris’ campaign wants the microphones to be hot at all times during the ABC debate — as has historically been the case at presidential debates.

“We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,” Brian Fallon, the Harris campaign’s senior adviser for communications, tells POLITICO. “Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own. We suspect Trump’s team has not even told their boss about this dispute because it would be too embarrassing to admit they don’t think he can handle himself against Vice President Harris without the benefit of a mute button.”

Privately, the veep’s team believes that Harris can get Trump to lose his cool and say something impolitic on mic.

“She’s more than happy to have exchanges with him if he tries to interrupt her,” one person familiar with the negotiations tells Playbook. “And given how shook he seems by her, he’s very prone to having intemperate outbursts and … I think the campaign would want viewers to hear [that].”

The Trump team is continuing the insults and BS as they try to get their way.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 27 Aug 24 - 09:43 AM

I am reading more and more that Trump's mad outbursts are paving the way for a cry of foul play once he does lose the election (We hope!) The latest worrying piece of news is that there are 70+ election deniers in key positions in swing states.

Is this a realu worry and, if so, what is being done about ot?

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Aug 24 - 11:01 AM

It is my understanding that they may try to slow things but will be challenged by higher authorities. In Georgia where the election board (supposedly non-partisan, and appointed, not elected) is making waves but the governor and attorney general will probably be able to dismantle that broken cog in the electoral wheel.

Their jobs to canvass elections are spelled out, they don't have the ability to actually toss votes or cancel elections without challenge and if they're not doing their largely ceremonial jobs states will most likely force their hands or set them aside. (Canvassing means to "thoroughly examine" or "scrutinize.")

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 27 Aug 24 - 11:17 AM

Thanks, Stilly.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Aug 24 - 09:27 PM

More commentary today about the threat of these rogue election officials - since the results they would be slowing would be local, chances are that other candidates on the ballot (down ballot from Trump or Harris) would sue if results were slowed. Local elections would put local candidates in office and if that is messed up, they're bound to sue.

Jack Smith has removed part of the case that the Supreme Court trashed and reissued the coup charges after running them past a new grand jury. The "superseding indictment" still packs a punch against Trump and his activities AS A CANDIDATE on January 6. He had no official duties, he was out there churning the crowd as part of his campaign. Trump charged in superseding indictment in election interference case following SCOTUS ruling
The new indictment adjusts the charges to the Supreme Court's immunity ruling.

"The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the Government's efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court's holdings and remand instructions," a Justice Department spokesperson said Tuesday.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 28 Aug 24 - 03:42 AM

I'm astounded that anyone with partisan views, such as these election deniers, has been allowed anywhere near the voting process. Surely there must be a method to remove them before they can do any damage. If they have stated, against all known facts, that Trump won the last election their mental health can be called into question at least!

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Aug 24 - 11:47 AM

The political opinions of people in non-partisan office are generally kept to themselves. The part of the population with MAGA views are working to infiltrate lower level offices thinking they can save the day for Trump, but rational individuals understand this means courts will have to force them to do their ceremonial jobs as appointed (or probably step down). The fact that they held those MAGA opinions may have impressed enough people to get them into those offices (we don't legislate against ideas, with the usual exceptions of harming others, shouting fire in theaters, etc.) but these are usually pockets of influence. Though it does puzzle me that enough people could agree that MAGA makes sense to re-elect people like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz. A few of those other crackpots.

Meanwhile, there is an "unwritten" Justice Department rule about not bringing charges or cases against presidential candidates within 60 days of an election. Or even thinking about them - it is a widely held opinion that when James Comey announced that Hillary's aid's laptop turned up with more emails that they were going to look into it; there was an opinion shift that came with that, and when he announced just before the election that there was nothing to see there the harm was done. But Trump is different, he has been in and out of courts for a couple of years now and these current cases are moving forward. It will be interesting to see what happens after September 5, if there is a pull-back by the Justice Department. The AG was so disappointingly slow in getting that started (waiting until the January 6 investigation by Congress turned up all of the evidence) that if he were to slow the work that is finally happening he might find himself the focus of some pretty nasty memes by Democrats.

Finally, I heard an interview recently about why Trump appeals to the wide swath he does - many of them white men without college educations. If they're feeling a pinch in getting jobs or advancing in jobs or being able to afford the usual things in life - cars, houses, beer, they are tending to blame other citizens (Black, Hispanic, immigrants, and these days, women) or Biden or Obama or whoever they can instead of realizing that our problem here is the extreme consolidation of banks, grocery businesses, agricultural product businesses, hospitals, and Big Pharma. When all of those businesses become almost monopolies in their arenas they can raise prices, and instead of hiring they do stock buybacks (those used to be illegal) and other things to boost CEO pay and reward investors. Food, services, housing, drugs, medical care, they all become less affordable. Blaming immigrants or the Democrats instead of blaming big industry is what got us here. And until we can get industry and big money back out of politics (the Supreme Court decision that said corporations are "persons" and can voice opinions via unlimited donations is called "Citizens United.") Trump ignores his big business friends and has set about turning Americans against each other. Blame the Democrats, blame the liberals, blame anyone else except the billionaire class.

/end of US politics 101 for today/

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: The Sandman
Date: 28 Aug 24 - 12:15 PM

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/28/trump-blames-biden-harris-assassination-attempt
link from uk guardian newspaper

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Aug 24 - 12:49 PM

Meanwhile, Trump was trying to set up a photo-op that would show him respecting military fallen at Arlington National Cemetery, a federal site with very specific rules about conduct and photos:

“Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign,” the statement said, adding that “a report was filed” over the incident.

“Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants,” the statement said.

The staffers were trying to video Trump laying a wreath in a ceremony for 13 US service members killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan.

In a statement, Arlington acknowledged one of its representatives became involved in the altercation with two Trump staffers, telling them that only cemetery representatives were allowed to take video and photographs in Section 60, an area where recent US casualties mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.

The Trump staffers pushed aside the cemetery official, who would be a civilian US Army employee, verbally abused them, and went ahead posing and taking photos like this and this video. In the video he was apparently speaking to the family of that fallen soldier, but the family can't give him access with private photographers to the grave.
So in his usual Trump style, the event is characterized as the employee being mentally disturbed and shouldn't have a job there.

“For a despicable individual to physically prevent President Trump’s team from accompanying him to this solemn event is a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery,”. . .

On a personal note, I was one of those public-facing park rangers many years ago when a local NY US congressman and a couple of friends rode out to Ellis Island on an Army Corps of Engineers tug (not a boat authorized to land at or transport people to the national park). The boat captain was the brother-in-law of the congressman. This was before Ellis restoration, when there was a lot of dangerous building decay and tours followed a set route with covered walkways and barriers; they walked all over the place and when I found them I tried to get them to return to their boat. They in turn patronized, insulted, and dismissed me; my supervisor heard of this and tagged along the rest of the time (so they wouldn't kill themselves) as they did what they wanted, asserting privilege based upon the congressman's status as an elected official. I was so pissed off that I wrote the Case-Incident report to include dialog - how rude they were, and how they suggested I should just go away and be a good little girl, that the Congressman had a right to do what he wanted. I was reading a lot of Steinbeck at the time so I quoted our conversation as dialog in the way he would have. Clear, and interesting to read.

The federal report forms documenting their trespass and abuse, written by me and by my supervisor and appended with a report from the Supt of the monument, moved up through NPS ranks and landed on a desk somewhere in Washington. In the end, the Corps of Engineers and the Congressman's office had to offer me a written apology. When you know your site, and you know the regulations, and when the misbehavior is challenged, it can come back to bite the offender in the ass. There's a reason for all of the federal regulations and the reports we had to file. On the bottom of my report I was allowed to state that I felt it was reprehensible for employees of another federal agency to behave that way on our site. The Arlington National Cemetery is run by the Army, and they're more strict about regulations than NPS. Trump's group could end up getting a citation or something out of this, if anyone bothers to follow-up.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 28 Aug 24 - 12:57 PM

To quote Mandy Rice-Davies: Well he would, wouldn't he?

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 28 Aug 24 - 01:03 PM

Oops: that was a reply to Sandman's link.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Helen
Date: 28 Aug 24 - 06:36 PM

This thought just popped into my head. I'm probably not the first to make the connection but if Trump thinks he's a stable genius, maybe that makes him a horse's ass?

Trump - stable genius

I've been checking the polls and he has been behind Harris by a few points, his crowd sizes are a lot less, and the money in his donations fund are a lot less too. Cautious optimism, but I'm not getting the crystal ball out just yet.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 29 Aug 24 - 08:22 AM

Nice one, Helen; doubtless Herself will be spluttering into her plonque rouge. It's just a shame that the appropriate animal is the campaign symbol for the Democrats, or you'd have got the triple score.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 29 Aug 24 - 11:11 AM

Good read and analysis of what is going on with Trump's attempts to fix the results

The path to destroy American democracy runs through Georgia

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Aug 24 - 11:55 AM

Trump can gaslight all he wants, but the bottom line on those positions that canvass elections is that they SHALL do the job. Not they "can if they want, or do whatever they want." It comes from much higher up than that Georgia board (and calling those two latest members "pitbulls" is an insult to pitbulls.) The results being contested by those folks will be local, and chances are good that other down-ballot elections will be perturbed enough by the delayed results that local lawsuits will result to get results released promptly. It is the job of each state's attorney general or other high-up election official to do the investigations, not that of the local zealots.

Trump is desperate and addled, that's all there is to it. His followers drank the Kool-aid (Flavor Aid was actually what was used at Jonestown) but may survive, though they may never recover their senses; admitting you were that wrong for that long is a difficult thing to do.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Helen
Date: 29 Aug 24 - 03:08 PM

MaJoC, I thought the Democrat symbol was a donkey, but Trump is at the ass end spilling out all kinds of stuff which other people have to try to clean up.

His poor political strategists must be losing sleep over what he might do at the political debate whereas Harris and her crew are probably rubbing their hands with glee and planning how to use all that manure to grow productive crops.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 29 Aug 24 - 10:37 PM

Far be it my intention to tell people from another country who they should vote for.

But Donald Trump seems to be a very strange character, Did anyone else see the interview where he kept saying how intelligent he was?

Still apparently half the country want him as president.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Neil D
Date: 29 Aug 24 - 11:24 PM

Too add to what SRS said about Big Business raising prices, and instead of hiring they do stock buybacks (those used to be illegal) and other things to boost CEO pay and reward investors. The big achievement of the first year of the Trump administration was a massive tax cut, especially generous to the wealthy with corporate tax rates at an all-time low. Now you will notice that whenever Republicans want to push their corporate welfare agenda those rich arseholes become "Job Creators". Well it's a lie. At the end of Trumprule the GAO studied the effect of those corporate tax gifts and found that very little of that money was used to create jobs. It was used to pay down debt and buy back their stock.
It's always a rehashing of Reagan's trickle down economics which George H.W. Bush (the primary rival not the running mate) tagged as "Voodoo Economics" whenever they want another corporate handout. It's always a lie.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Aug 24 - 12:32 PM

Trump is trying to move his sentencing in the hush-money case to Federal court, to delay it until after the election. As the New York Times suggests, "it's a long shot."

Former President Donald J. Trump sought to move his Manhattan criminal case into federal court on Thursday, filing the unusual request three months after he was convicted in state court.

The long-shot bid marks Mr. Trump’s latest effort to stave off his sentencing in state court in his hush-money trial, in which he was convicted of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal.

He is scheduled to receive his punishment on Sept. 18, just seven weeks before Election Day, when he will square off against Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency.

“The ongoing proceedings will continue to cause direct and irreparable harm to President Trump — the leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election — and voters located far beyond Manhattan,” Mr. Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, wrote in the filing.

Well, guys, he ISN'T "President" Trump, he's ex- or former-president Trump, who has an inflated view of his own importance. He's scared of Harris, who appears to have moved ahead of him in most polls (but never trust them - the only one that counts is the voting booth). All hopes are on Marchan pronouncing a prison sentence in September.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Helen
Date: 30 Aug 24 - 02:22 PM

Also, in the lawyers' filing that you quoted, "...President Trump — the leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election..." - well, that is not according to the polls I've been looking at e.g. The Hill & DDHQ but as you say, the only poll that matters is the election.

I watched a few snippets of the CNN interview with Harris and Walz, mostly on the Oz TV show Planet America Fireside Chat. One of the possible explanations proposed by John Barron for Harris' hesitation in conducting live interviews was that, being a Prosecutor she would be carefully weighing every word she utters in a courtroom context so she may be weighing everything she says in interviews as well. That makes a nice change from listening to Trump's out of control utterances.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Aug 24 - 03:02 PM

I'm not worried that she hasn't done interviews - Trump just wants to make a case of anything he can think of. She's awfully busy being the vice president and simultaneously a political candidate setting up a new campaign under highly unusual circumstances.

Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 31 Aug 24 - 05:21 AM

Another really good piece from Raw Story

The real reason corporate media won't cover Trump's attacks on democracy

I don't know who they are but this makes sense to me.